“Motherhood is priced of God, at price no man may dare
to lessen or misunderstand” (Helen Fiske Hunt Jackson).
God has indeed given an inestimable value to mothers, which all too often has been reduced by humanity, through a vision colored by sin and worldliness. We are deceived and denied so many blessings when we buy in to such a philosophy. As Solomon expressed in Proverbs, in praise of the worthy woman, “Her children rise up and bless her; Her husband also, and he praises her, saying: ‘Many daughters have done nobly, But you excel them all’” (Proverbs 31:28-29 NASB). While the world may denigrate the concept of motherhood, there is another perspective to be considered.
What is it that gives motherhood its noble calling, its priceless value, its importance to our world? The blessings mothers bring to our lives are not fully released until they are activated by the power of God, when the spiritual is understood and practiced by mothers. This is the element so missing in many mothers today. None of us are complete without God, none of us are able to be what we should be, what we can be, without God at work in our lives. So it is for those who would fulfill the work of being a mother.
Those women in Scripture who are commended as examples to us of what being a mother is all about are united in putting God first in their lives and living by His will for them. How else can they instill godly virtues in the lives of their children? How else will they have the wisdom needed to offer counsel and direction to them, to comfort them, to encourage them in what is best? How else can they offer their children what is of greatest value in influencing their lives, that which is eternal?
We are reminded of Hannah, who prayed to have a child and dedicated him to God (1 Samuel 1:11). We need mothers today willing to dedicate their children to God, to understand His will and conform their lifestyles to it. We think of both Lois and Eunice, Timothy’s grandmother and mother (2 Timothy 1:5) and the pattern they instilled in him so he could be effective in living and serving Christ. We are grateful to Mary, mother of the Lord, for having a submissive spirit to God, who said, “I am the Lord’s slave. May it be done to me according to your word” (Luke 1:38 HCSB).
What a powerful thing it is, then, when mothers surrender their hearts to the Lord, that from their hearts they may offer themselves in bringing up their children in the will of God. It provides the best for today, but hope for eternity. Parenting apart from God’s perspective is shortsighted and temporal at best; parenting based in God’s will can last forever. “Charm is deceptive and beauty is fleeting, but a woman who fears the LORD will be praised” (Proverbs 31:30).
We thank God for those mothers who so live and love, whether in our past or in our present. They are a great blessing to their families and to our world, and will be blessed by God in return. Our honor of them is seen, not just in flowers, or meals, or cards, or gifts, but also in how we live. “My son, observe the commandment of your father And do not forsake the teaching of your mother; Bind them continually on your heart; Tie them around your neck… For the commandment is a lamp and the teaching is light; And reproofs for discipline are the way of life” (Proverbs 6:20-21, 23).
